Elemental Darkness (Paranormal Public Series) Read online

  “We have a right to be involved,” Lough pushed.

  Oliva stood up. He wasn’t one of the smallest pixies, but he wasn’t very large either. Lough, who had filled out over the past couple of years, towered over him.

  “You will go to your dorms,” Oliva ordered. “Or are you proposing to defy the President of Public?”

  Lough stood for a minute, staring at Oliva. I couldn’t work out what was happening behind his soft eyes, but I had a feeling that that was exactly what Lough was proposing to do. Without Lisabelle I didn’t think Lough cared for much of anything anymore.

  “Hopefully in the morning my mother and Professor Zervos will also have arrived,” said Dacer.

  “Zervos just makes everything better,” said Lanca dryly.

  I was glad she had said it, because I probably wouldn’t have been so kind, and Oliva couldn’t get mad at the ruler of the Blood Throne, at least not openly.

  Lough nodded his thanks to her.

  “Dacer. . .” I said. But I didn’t know how to continue. He looked at me sympathetically.

  “We will have to get to Ricky soon,” he said. “This was a multi-pronged attack. They attacked Caid, and many others less well known. They attacked the Paranormal Police Academy, although they were driven back from there. I’m sorry, but Ricky’s home has to be on a short list of places they will attack soon.”

  Chapter Two

  In my heart I knew it was true, but that didn’t mean I wanted to talk about it.

  There seemed to be nothing more to say for now, and we left the room in silence. I gave Dacer and Lanca one last look, but neither wanted to infuriate Oliva any further. Dacer merely nodded and said he’d see me tomorrow. Lanca smiled and said, “Can I stay in Astra with you?”

  I sighed in relief; I’d been dreading going back to Astra and its lonely silence. I nodded. “Vital too.”

  “Yes,” she said, as if taken by surprise.

  We left Oliva’s, and Lough was barely out the door before he burst out in anger, “Well, that didn’t go the way it should have,” he cried. “How dare Oliva talk to us like that? What has he done since this whole mess started? He’s only made it worse.”

  Lough’s shoulders were shaking with anger. I didn’t know what to say, because there wasn’t anything comforting left to offer him.

  We were walking through a spring evening at Public, the warm air and the soft glow from the windows of the beloved buildings merrily lighting the path to our dorms. There were crickets chirping, and I could smell things growing. It was a beautiful evening.

  I wanted to hit someone.

  Neither of us said anything else. We were both painfully aware that Sip and Lisabelle weren’t there, and that was really all we needed to know.

  Normally, returning to Astra was comforting for me; I felt my family there. Normally, Keller would be waiting for me, and I had always loved the feeling of expectation that gave me.

  But now I knew that elementals had killed my mother.

  And Keller was with Malle.

  Everywhere my thoughts went, there was gloom.

  “Earth to Charlotte,” said Lough, waving his hand in front of me.

  I glared at him. I was too tired and too sad. “What?” I demanded.

  He pointed to Astra.

  There were lights winking at me from a distance. I frowned.

  “Maybe Martha’s back,” Lough said hopefully. “And baking.”

  “I doubt it,” I replied. “Although she did say she’d come back and bake from time to time.”

  “I don’t think even a cookie could cheer me up now,” said Lough sadly. He was probably right. I didn’t think a cookie would cheer me up either.

  “You don’t have to come in with me,” I said, as Lough made it clear he wasn’t going to Airlee.

  He shrugged. “I don’t really want to go back to Airlee if Sip and Lisabelle aren’t there. Besides, you’re the only friend I have left.”

  He took a shaky breath. “I just turned my back for one second. You know, it’s one of the many prices of hanging around with girls. Well, no, there’s another: you aren’t in the same suite with them, so you can’t protect them when Happiness Enforcement Officers come, and girls are crazy.”

  “I think you’ve said that before,” I murmured.

  He nodded. “I’ll keep saying it. Makes me feel better.”

  “Anyhow, I think there are people in Astra,” I said

  Lough followed as I hurried forward with my heart clenched, wondering what else could possibly go wrong. Dacer and Oliva had both told me to return to my dorm; if something awful had happened there, wouldn’t they have warned me?

  “Let me go in first,” said Lough. He stepped in front of me, his face grim.

  “No,” I argued. “Not this time. I’m sick and tired of being protected.”

  I didn’t even wait for him to react. The thing with Astra, and me being the only elemental, was that the dorm’s old powers recognized me as its owner. I might not have been as strong as a senior paranormal, but I was getting there. My junior year in college was over, after all.

  I stepped around Lough and blew the doors off. It barely took any effort, I was that angry.

  In front of me there was a snap and a massive puff of dark gray smoke, obscuring my vision. Behind me I heard Lough coughing. What was more interesting was that there were worried cries coming from beyond the smoke.

  Ignoring any worries about my own safety, I held my breath, then darted through doorway and into Astra.

  “You trying to kill us?” Rake asked. He was half laughing, but sweat had broken out on his brow.

  The thick smoke prevented me from seeing a face, but I recognized the voice and the massive shoulders of the burly vampire.

  “Huh?” I said, staring at him in shock as the smoke started to clear. “What are you doing here?”

  “Do you mean here as in Public or here as in Astra?” Trafton asked sweetly. The beautiful dream giver, another friend of ours who nursed an unrequited crush on Lisabelle, came forward. He had a long cut on his cheek, which he had probably gotten in the escape from Golden Falls, but it was already starting to heal.

  “I had no idea you were here,” said Lough. He only sounded kind of glad. Trafton was not his favorite paranormal.

  “We just got here,” Trafton said. “Dragons are awesome, but they got tired carrying us.”

  “They got tired carrying you,” said Vanni, stepping delicately around him and meeting my eyes. Vanni had a crush on Keller, and for that reason and others I had never particularly liked her. But in recent semesters she had tried to be brave, and I had to respect her for that.

  “We’re glad you’re okay, Charlotte,” she said, smiling shyly at me.

  I looked beyond them into the house and saw sleeping bags everywhere. It looked like the Astra entryway had been turned into a campsite.

  “You too,” I said, and I meant it. But I also had no idea what was going on, so I took the most direct route and asked, “Um, what are you all doing here?”

  Trafton looked around. “Oh, you don’t usually have piles of sleeping bags in your walkway? Strange.”

  I shook my head. “No, I don’t.”

  “We’re staying with you in Astra,” said Vanni stoutly. “At least, most of us are. The pixies are staying in Volans. They’re seriously annoying. Camilla materialized just as we were returning to Public, but I swear no dragon gave her a ride. Lots of vampires are staying in Cruor, because of the coffins.”

  “We like our coffins,” Rake explained.

  “But most of the rest of us are here,” Vanni said, sweeping her hand behind her.

  I peered around and saw that most of the sleeping bags were filled with my classmates, who were now staring wide-eyed at me. There were also several freshmen, no longer Starters, whom I barely knew.

  I bristled. “I don’t need protection,” I said hotly. “I just need sleep.” Like I was going to be able to get any of that.

  Vanni
shook her head. “We know you don’t need protection here. We just want to be together. Strength in numbers and all that.”

  “It’s not for you,” Lough whispered to me. “If Lisabelle were here she’d say it wasn’t about you. It’s about them.”

  I looked around at all the faces, really seeing them for the first time.

  “This is really scary,” said Vanni softly. “We feel better being around the only elemental. And together. Besides, the semester’s over. We can stay where we want until we go home.”

  I sighed heavily. “Alright,” I said. “Lanca is coming here. So is Vital. Make sure they don’t step on any of you.”

  Rake grinned. “Not likely, since you blew the door off.”

  I grinned sheepishly.

  “Any news about Sip?” Rake asked.

  As soon as the words were out of his mouth he could see that the question upset me; I couldn’t hide the pain on my face. They didn’t know about Lisabelle.

  “We should talk privately,” said Lough. “Maybe in the kitchen?”

  “Been hours since you ate?” I asked dryly. Lough shrugged. “Like two. Gotta keep my blood sugar up if we’re going to battle demons.”

  Rake, Vanni, and Trafton came with us as we headed for the kitchen, while most of the other paranormals, who had been awakened when I blew the door off its hinges, rolled back over in their sleeping bags.

  The kitchen had always been hub of the house, and now it felt even warmer than usual, as if the oven had been running. I smelled the sweet aroma of baking.

  “Oh yeah, there was a woman here earlier,” said Vanni, shaking her head. “We didn’t think you had a dorm mother, but when we questioned her she disappeared, muttering something about long-suffering and tolerating children.”

  “Yeah, she’s alright,” I said. Martha must have come by often while we were away. The kitchen was spotless.

  But the very first thing I noticed when I entered the room was Sigil, the ghost who haunted the Astra library. I had originally met him by accident, and ever since then I had gone to him for advice and information on the history of elementals.

  Sigil had thin, frail hands, large glasses that slid down his nose and covered his large eyes, and an even larger hat. At the moment he was standing defensively in front of the counter, which I could see was covered in Martha’s baked goods.

  “Sigil,” I cried in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

  He used one frail hand to push his glasses up and blinked at me. “Guarding the cookies. Obviously,” he muttered, peering at my companions.

  “Yessss, tarts!” Lough beamed as he hurried over to the island. “A ghost after my own heart.” As usual, Martha had left a table filled with treats for us.

  “Alright, out with it. Why is the trio separated?” Trafton asked. Instead of sitting down he stayed standing near the island, rocking nervously on the balls of his feet. I knew he was asking about Lisabelle. Just like Lough, Trafton had always nursed a crush on the darkness mage.

  “You better take this,” said Lough, handing his fellow dream giver a cookie. Trafton glared at it for a moment, then took it with a faint nod.

  I told them. I didn’t know much, obviously, just that Lisabelle had gone to darkness in order to release Sip from her captors.

  “It all happened so fast,” I said sadly.

  “Why didn’t you STOP her?” Trafton cried. He’d grown more agitated as the story unfolded. “You should have stopped her. They’ll kill her!”

  “Lisabelle had to get Sip back,” Rake said hotly, coming immediately to my defense.

  “I’m thirsty,” I whispered to Lough, trying to deflect the argument that was starting up.

  Lough smiled sadly. “Sip would have made us tea by now.”

  I chuckled, thinking of our friend. “Not with Lisabelle gone. She’s going to be so mad.”

  “I wouldn’t want to be the demon Golden Falls gave her over to,” said Lough. “Not even a little bit.”

  “Lisabelle did what she had to,” I said. “I wanted to stop her, but even if I had tried, she’s stronger than I am. She’s stronger than all of us.”

  “That doesn’t matter,” said Trafton, shaking her head. “Her life is in danger, and you shouldn’t have let her do it!”

  “Like I had a choice,” I cried, tears finally pricking the corners of my eyes.

  “There’s always a choice,” said Trafton, who for some reason had decided to dig in his heels on this one.

  “Stop it,” cried Vanni, who had remained quiet through my entire tale, but couldn’t stop herself from speaking up now. “Charlotte’s been through enough. You know Lisabelle. It’s not like we could ever tell her what to do. She did what she thought was right. She did what she had to do, and if she dies for it then she’s the exact sort of friend I always thought she was.”

  “Loyal and unconditional,” Rake murmured. “That’s definitely Lisabelle.”

  Trafton slumped. Lough guided him to a chair and pointed to the untouched cookie.

  “But what if it changes her?” Trafton asked quietly.

  “Of course it will change her,” said Vanni, rolling her eyes. She had never liked Lisabelle very much, but to be fair, Lisabelle had called her Fraidy Angel . . . to her face. Now, though, regardless of the past, I was grateful for Vanni’s support.

  Lough scrubbed his face. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” he said wearily. “I just want to go be by myself and cry.”

  We all looked at him, a bit stunned.

  “I can be in touch with my feelings,” he huffed. “And honest. Excuse me.”

  He pushed back his stool and quickly left the kitchen. Lough had been to Astra enough times to know he could sleep wherever he wanted. There were lots of bedrooms.

  “We should get to sleep as well,” said Trafton, when no one else spoke up. “I don’t remember the last time I closed my eyes.”

  I grabbed a cookie, because I was so hungry I felt hollow, and followed my friends. I was trying very hard not to think, but it wasn’t working well.

  “Try not to dream, Charlotte,” Trafton advised as he rolled himself up in his sleeping bag in the hall. “They probably won’t be pleasant.”

  “Tell me something I don’t know.”

  Chapter Three

  It was one of the things I’d been dreading. The part of me I’d inherited from my mother, the dream giver part, was likely to go wild tonight. Whenever I closed my eyes I already thought of Sip at the hands of the demons . . . and cringed. I didn’t think they’d hurt her, not if they could have Lisabelle, but the thought that she might be tortured was almost too much for me to bear.

  I climbed the stairs slowly, so tired I had to force one foot in front of the other. My room was dark and I didn’t bother turning on any lights. One of the big windows was open, and the curtains blew gently in the spring breeze. I wondered if Martha had been in there, getting my room ready for my arrival. Not that I expected such things from Paranormal Public’s human form, but she had been known to act motherly from time to time.

  I tossed my bag on the couch and disappeared into the walk in-closet. I quickly changed into comfy pants and a t-shirt and came back into my bedroom. Normally I’d wear shorts to sleep, because Keller always kept me warm, but I didn’t want to wear the same clothes without him.

  And now I didn’t even have my Keller dreams to look forward to.

  “Took you long enough,” said a cold voice. I froze. I was climbing into bed and had even removed my ring. I usually kept it on, but tonight it had felt heavy, and I had thought I was safe at Public, in my own dorm, in my own room, in my own bed.

  Very slowly I turned around. Dobrov Validification was standing in my room.

  I glared at the hybrid.

  “I didn’t know I had company,” I said hotly. “And I use the term loosely. What do you want? On another errand for your sister?”

  Dobrov flinched a little, but didn’t argue.

  “Sorry to barge in,”
he said. “I didn’t think you would talk to me otherwise.”

  “Duh,” I said. “I don’t have the energy to pretend you’re welcome. Although I’d dearly love to know what part your sister played in that little drama we just lived through. Barely.”

  “I’m sorry you lost your friends,” he said. I couldn’t tell if he meant it or not.

  I stormed toward him. He didn’t move, so I kept going. I lifted my arm, and even without my ring I had the force of my powers and of Astra behind me. I slammed my forearm into his throat and propelled us forward until his back slammed against the nearest wall.

  “I didn’t lose ANY friends. You got that?” I said coldly.

  He met my eyes, searching my face. It was all I could do not to look away. Dobrov had started to look a little better - still not cute, but at least less like an over-boiled cabbage.

  “I had to sneak out,” he said, his face unreadable.

  “What part of my facial expression makes you think I care?” I demanded. “I don’t care. You may have noticed I have other problems. You are not in my top ten. In fact, you’re probably not in my top hundred.”

  “I just wanted to tell you I’m sorry,” said Dobrov.

  “You spent our entire semester not making eye contact and following your crazy darkness sister around,” I gritted out. “Leave. My. Room.”

  Dobrov sighed heavily.

  “I’m trying to help,” he said. “I want to help, but it’s complicated. She’s my sister.”

  “It doesn’t have to be complicated,” I said. “You are either a member of the Sign of Six or you’re my enemy.”

  “Is Caid your enemy?” Dobrov asked quietly.

  “Yes,” I cried. “He let this happen. I don’t care what Dacer said.”

  Dobrov cocked his head. “What did Dacer say?”

  I opened my mouth to answer, then I closed it with a snap. He had barged into my bedroom. He wasn’t going to quiz me.

  “You’re here to get information from me, aren’t you? Do you know I haven’t slept yet? Not since Golden Falls.”

  Dobrov’s shoulder slumped. “Obviously I shouldn’t have come,” he said heavily.